Uncertainty
by justonelastchapter
Summary: Marie Quint lives in the house directly next to the noisy Potters. She has for some time now. She's aged and old but then she forgets. She forgets everything. All that's left is a crying girl who says feeble, tear racked sorrys, and a fleck of sun-red hair. Marie can't tell what's fact and fiction anymore.


**Chaser 2: Jily Appleby Arrows**

**(Word) Neighbor**

**(Setting) Godric's Hollow**

**(Emotion) annoyed**

**Grizzly Bear: Motherhood. Write about any mother in the series.**

**Cherry: Write about Neville Longbottom, whose wand was cherry. Alt: write about the effects of powerful damage done by a spell (Gilderoy Lockhart's wand was also cherry.)**

* * *

Marie Quint divided up her life by sorting every thing into categories. Fact or Fiction. She had been doing it for so long that Marie had forgotten when she had started. But she still did it. Even if she tried, Marie wouldn't be able to stop.

It was a habit and habits were impossible to break.

Fact.

The Potters lived next door.

Fact.

The potters were loud and crazy.

Fact.

Marie Quint knew of their ridiculous Hogwarts days for she had had the same good times herself. Lord knew all the mischief Susan and she had gotten into during their seventh year so she supposed that the humble Potters had been the same.

Though the constant bangs and cries that came from the neighbors were too much for Marie's waning patience.

Seemingly everyday there was a new explosion or vase to be broken, and she was sick of it. For only three people, they sounded like twenty.

Mr. Tuffters, Marie's aged cat barely got any speed during the nights.

Fact.

The sleep deprived cat wouldn't have bothered Marie if she too hadn't been lacking. Though their other neighbors, when asked, never commented on the noise. Everyone else seemed to have a seemingly non-existent knowledge of the Potters.

According to Pam down the lane, the only noises that came from the Potters were the cites of their new born baby. Everyone had a glowing report of both Potter parents.

Lily Potter, beautiful and brilliant, worked in the garden most days.

Fact.

Marie would chat with her from time to time over the fence. Mostly they discussed the new John Oh book, if they did talk. The talks were a surprise in the beginning. Without meeting her, Marie would have assumed that Lily was much more outgoing than the reality.

The quite book talks were a present surprise.

James Potter was just as quiet and reserved as his wife.

Fiction.

It was just the opposite actually. How the two had ended up together, Marie would never know. Lily and James were fire and ice.

Two very different elements that just clicked.

Fiction. -Fire does not react well with ice.

james and Lily went together like two puzzle pieces.

Fact.

Marie had never met Harry though. The boy was too young to really do much of anything so he mostly stayed indoors.

Wake up, weed the garden, greet Lily, make breakfast, feed Tuffters, knit, write some letters, make lunch, eat, pack up the leftovers for dinner, plant the new flowers, read, warm up the left over lunch, read, bathe, sleep and replete.

Every day went the same way.

Every day until one summer afternoon where Marie woke up. She braided her hair and balled it up into a bun while brushing her teeth.

Oral hygiene was tedious.

Fact.

Oral hygiene was useless.

Fiction.

Slipedon her wellies, Marie padded out to her garden. She quickly weeded her garden that day, not looking over the fence once but when she finally did she was disappointed to find that there was no Lily.

The rest of the day passed by, then the week, but Lily was no where to be found.

The whole Potter family had just disappeared.

Fact.

Marie's life was quieter.

Fact.

Marie missed the noise.

Fact.

For the next eight months life would go on and Marie would try to forget the bolsteious family that took her life by storm.

On January 29th, a woman came to her door.

She was tall with long black hair.

Fact.

She looked apologetic but Marie didn't know what for, she was more concerned with how the woman had passed through all her protection charms.

She never even got to curse her before she blacked out to a milky white. The last scene that she saw was a muggle name tag that read: Hello my name's ... Marlene

.

When Marie woke up she was in a hospital with no recollection of the Potters, but she did learn of them in the weeks to come. Who hadn't heard of 'the boy who lived?

A woman named Marlene came to visits every weekend. When ever she visited she would cry and cry. Apology after apology and Marie never knew why. Though, she didn't ask. She only held the young woman's head in her arms whispering a promise she didn't believe.

How could she believe when she didn't even know what was wrong?

That was the problem however- Marie didn't have the foggiest of what was simply wrong. She didn't even know her own family or friends.

Marlene was apparently a friend and Marie wanted friends.

Although, there was a stomach clenching disappointment when Marie learned that Marlene had never read John Oh before.

John Oh was the first book that Marie had picked up in the hospital. It was an instant favorite; almost as if it was a friendly ghost from the past.

So Marie and Marlene talked for hours about life and friends. Marlene cried and Marie comforted and eventually Marlene started talking about the Potters whom she had known personally.

Marie asked, - not making the connection to the dead Potters - how they were doing and that set Marlene into a fit of crying. Only this time she was louder in her screams and apologies.

The next day life proceeded as usual. A couple memory stimulating drills, books to read and the awful substance that St. Mungo's dared called food.

But the next weekend was different. Marlene never came back. Same the next week. Marlene was gone.

.

Twenty seven years later, Marie tracked down her step sister and became a great aunt. She never regained her memory but every so often she would hear a phantom bang or whiplash, seeing a flash of vibrant red hair.

But Lily Potter was a mystery to her. All Lily was was Harry Potter's mum. Not a friend or a neighbor. Just a dead woman. Marlene was forgotten in the fold of time, though sometimes, Marie could still hear her tear filled apologies.

People start hallucinating with age.

True.

Marie was old.

True.

Marie was hallucinating.

True.

Marie never saw that red hair before in her life

Uncertain.


End file.
